Foreign Funding of Think Tanks Is Corrupting Our Democracy

Foreign governments donate millions to US think tanks to promote their positons, suggests a report in the New York Times. Research costs money; donors, foreign or domestic, may influence topics of research, sources and conclusions. “Washington think tanks, which were originally intended as a source of impartial, objective, and disinterested information, have become arms of foreign as well as domestic influence peddlers,” argues John B. Judis for the New Republic. In the early 20th century, groups pursued strived for objective opinions, but competing groups have emerged with political and business agendas. Think tanks accept funds from foreign corporations and governments. Such lobbying may break US law that requires those who “lobby on behalf of foreign governments to register with the Justice Department and to stamp whatever they write with the name of the country they represent.” Think tank officials deny the charges, and Judis concludes that companies, foundations and universities are subject to such influence, too. Such foreign donations are not illegal, and the opinions are useful – but such transactions should be transparent. – YaleGlobal